NC Moral Monday rally takes aim at voter, education policies

<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Police <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/07/22/4182524/about-70-more-arrested-at-nc-legislative.html" rel="nofollow">arrested 73 protesters</a></span> at the 12^{<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span>} Moral Monday rally held at the Statehouse in Raleigh, N.C.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>last night. Demonstrators railed against voter suppression legislation and the proposed state budget, both of which will be considered by the GOP-controlled Legislature this week. </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4NsaAFrY71dLbJWCt3t5a0wwa1plbPf7s5YNcm4S9P_AEFqu3WH-NF4LrrN4YskEjj4IRF-7zxGvADbkyAHeIMhKpWRrlXbYRMCFgfqaYi4ytufXUaqU49ZNQYBE__ycmWDDNx8n6Cees/s1600/7-23moralmondayphoto1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4NsaAFrY71dLbJWCt3t5a0wwa1plbPf7s5YNcm4S9P_AEFqu3WH-NF4LrrN4YskEjj4IRF-7zxGvADbkyAHeIMhKpWRrlXbYRMCFgfqaYi4ytufXUaqU49ZNQYBE__ycmWDDNx8n6Cees/s320/7-23moralmondayphoto1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Protesters sit-in during Moral Monday rally. </td></tr></tbody></table></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4NsaAFrY71dLbJWCt3t5a0wwa1plbPf7s5YNcm4S9P_AEFqu3WH-NF4LrrN4YskEjj4IRF-7zxGvADbkyAHeIMhKpWRrlXbYRMCFgfqaYi4ytufXUaqU49ZNQYBE__ycmWDDNx8n6Cees/s1600/7-23moralmondayphoto1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> </a><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thus far, 925 people have been arrested standing up to Gov. Pat McCrory and his cronies who would sock it to working families to benefit big business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Legislature is considering measures that would limit the rights of voters, slash education spending to the bone and make regular people pay more so corporations can get tax breaks. <o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Police began making arrests after attendees sat on the floor and signaled they were intending to stay overnight. The General Assembly’s police chief then announced the building was closed and gave demonstrators five minutes to leave. Lawmakers, who usually meet Monday evening, moved up their schedule and were not present when the announcement was made about 7:15 p.m.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This week is a busy one at the Statehouse, as lawmakers are scheduled to wrap up their work for the year. Senate leaders announced they will begin marking up a voter repression bill in committee today, and released an amended version of the legislation that will be considered. We wrote about the </span><a href="http://www.teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/07/nc-lawmakers-attack-voting-rights.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">original version of the bill</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> last week.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">State Sen. Josh Stein on his Facebook page </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joshhstein/posts/10200895286880231" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">described the latest 57-page bill as a “monstrosity,”</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> noting it shortens early voting by one week; eliminates same-day voting and provisional voting; purges voter rolls more often and prevents counties extending poll hours due to lengthy lines: <o:p></o:p></span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Meanwhile, it floods the democratic process with more money. The bill makes it easier for outside groups to spend on electioneering and reduces disclosure of the sources. It also raises the contribution limits to $5000 per person per election from $4000 and indexes the amount to rise with inflation.</span></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The state budget proposal will also be considered beginning today. On the education front, it phases out tenure for teachers as well as higher pay for <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>those with master’s degrees. The budget also axes 3,850 teacher assistant positions statewide.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Educators like Lindsay Kosmala Furst said she may have to leave the profession in order to provide for her family. As it stands, </span><a href="http://m.charlotteobserver.com/charlotte/db_316895/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=BwqrNF8n&full=true#display" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">her two young daughters qualify for Medicaid</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> due to her low pay as a Buncombe County high school English teacher:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We never wanted to live in luxury. We did, however, hope to be able to take our little girls for an ice cream or not wonder where we will find the gas money to visit their grandparents.<o:p></o:p></span></blockquote></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> North Carolinians have state budget director </span><a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/02/heres-billionaire-trying-to-destroy.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Art Pope</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> to thank for this dismal funding bill. Pope, an </span><a href="http://www.alecexposed.org/" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ALEC</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> disciple and top fundraiser for Gov. McCrory and state Republicans, got where he is today by filling his favorite politicians’ pockets with cash. Now working and middle class families are paying the price.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">More to come …</span></span></div>

NC Moral Monday rally takes aim at voter, education policies

Police arrested 73 protesters at the 12 th Moral Monday rally held at the Statehouse in Raleigh, N.C.   last night. Demonstrators railed...

Read more »